Another thing I've been doing while neglecting this blog is adding a new topic to my Examiner credentials. I'm now covering Brooklyn Wildlife. Read my first article about muskrats.

I haven't posted anything recently because I've been working on another feature for this site: a list of campgrounds with detailed information about their attractions and amenities. Basically, I'll be listing all the places we've been, which are all within about a 4-hour drive or less from the city. (Well, all except the two places we stayed while in Europe.) For now, the Places We've Been page lists everywhere we've camped since Tree Kid was born (Fall 1999).

This weekend is I Love My Park Day, a statewide event to enhance the state’s parks and historic sites and bring visibility to the park system's needs. Volunteers will clean up park lands and beaches, plant trees and gardens, restore trails and wildlife habitats, remove invasive species, and work on site improvement projects.

It's Earth Day, for the 39th time. The chilly, overcast weather here in NYC is not very conducive to getting out there and enjoying our planet. We've already been out for an 8am soccer game.

There are official Earth Day events here in NYC—you can get details at the Earth Day New York website. Some of them are indoors, at Grand Central Terminal.

New York State is blessed with 178 state parks from the Finger Lakes to Long Island that offer a wide range of scenery and experiences. Harriman State Park, just 40 miles northeast of the city, is the second largest park in the state with over 200 miles of hiking trails, three beaches, and 31 lakes and reservoirs. Harriman offers two campgrounds—the Sebago Cabins open April 20 and Beaver Pond campground opens April 27. Beginning this weekend, camping is open at Clarence Fahnestock State Park, roughly 60 miles north of the city.

We went for a short walk in Prospect Park yesterday afternoon because the boys wanted to show me a cool tree hideout they found the day before. It's a large hollow tree on a hill on the south side of the park. I won't be more specific because what use is a spy base that everyone knows about?

Even on such a brief excursion, we spotted several different kinds of birds, including a hermit thrush, grackles, northern shovelers, coots, redwing blackbirds, and of course the usual mallards, Canada geese, swans, sparrows, pigeons and starlings.

There's a terrific article by Richard Louv over at Children and Nature Network, titled "You're part of the new nature movement if..." Chances are you'll find something there that resonates, whether your connection to nature is spirituality or productivity, and whether you're trying to connect nature and people in the form of yourself, your children, your employees, or the public.

Speaking of finding frogs, scientists have discovered a new species of leopard frog right here in New York City. Its range is more or less the area within commuting distance, from New Jersey through Putnam County, and it was discovered because, although it looks very similar to other species, it has a distinct croak.

Whenever I've gone camping in early spring, I've heard the spring peepers making their loud racket, but I've never been able to find or see one. It looks like the excellent urban nature blog The Natural Capital has come through for me with a post on How to Find a Spring Peeper—they say it works. It only takes three people, 3 flashlights, and plenty of time.